Spearhead nozzle



Dec. 3, l940. D. R. BARBER 2,224,010

v SPEARHEAD NOZZLE Filed Aug. 5l, 193B Patented Dec. 3, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a nre-lighting implement for penetrating walls, ceilings and thevlike for the purpose of introducing a stream of water on the further side of the wall. In lighting fires,

5 it is often necessary to get at re which is behind the walls or ceilings. An object of the present invention is to provide a device by which such res can quickly and easily be reached.

According to the invention, a penetrating mem- `ber or Spearhead is mounted in front of anozzle box, the latter being formed so as to project streams of water laterally behind the Spearhead.

The Spearhead and nozzle box are mounted on a tubular Shaft through which water is supplied l5 to the nozzle box. Suitable handles and grip members are provided for manipulation of the device. According to the invention, the shaft is preferably provided with a right-angled coupling adapted to be attached to the end of a fire hose nozzle. Thus, in lighting a re, if it is necessary to get at concealed fires within walls or ceilings, the tip of the fire hose nozzle can be quickly removed and replaced by a Spearhead nozzle device, the end of which can be thrust through `metal ceilings, metal lath, stucco or other materials which are difficult to penetrate by the usual means employed.

In conventional house structure, the spaces between walls and between floors and ceilings are usually divided by joists or studs into narrow compartments. By thrusting a nozzle box such as is hereinafter described into successive spaces of this kind in su'ch a manner that the streams issuing from the nozzle box project lengthwise of the spaces, each space can be quickly flooded.

The Spearhead which easily penetrates walls and ceilings, and is easily withdrawn, makes possible rapidaccess to successive spaces.`

In addition to the foregoing uses of the device, it may also be used for other purposes such as brush fires or ground fires. V

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the description thereof which follows and to the drawing of which- Figure 1 is an elevation of a device embodying the invention, illustrating a manner of penetration through a metal ceiling.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, shown on a larger scale.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a plan View, on a small scale, showing the distribution of the water from the nozzle box in a narrow space.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the fire-fighting device consists primarily of a penetrating spearhead I0 behind which is secured a nozzle box I2, 5

lthe latter being mounted on the forward end of a tubular shaft I4 which is provided with a suitable grip |6 and apair of handles I8. The Shaft is preferably a seamless tube made of suitable material for lightness and strength, such as 10 stainless steel or plated steel. At the rear or lower end of the shaft I4 Ipreferably attach a right-angled coupling 20 adaptedto connect one end of a standard re hose nozzle 22. The nozzle is preferably provided with a shut-off cock 24 15 so that the stream can be turned off while the couplin'g 20 is being attached or while the head is being withdrawn from one bay and thrust into another,y and is coupled to the end of a hose line 26. The Spearhead l0 is preferably a single heattreated alloyed steel casting of suitable shape, such shape preferably including a pyramidal portion 30 having four side faces and a rear portion` 32 in the form of a truncated pyramid which isf 25 base to base with the pyrarnidal portion 30, the portions 30 and 32 being preferably integral. By way of example,l the pyramidal portion 30 may have a base in the form of a 21/2 inch squarev and slant height of 21/2 inches. Each of the four 30 Side faces of the pyramidal portion 30 is made with a narrow marginal portion 36 extending along the edges 38 of the head, these marginal portions being plane. Between the margins of each face is a slightly concaved or dished por-'35 tion 40 whichconstitutes nearly all of the area of the face. When the head is thrust through a sheet of metal or the like, the narrowmarginal areas 36 are the sole' frictional areas engaging the penetrated sheet until the pyramidal portion* 40 32 has penetrated as far as its base. This small amount of friction area greatly enhances the penetrating power of the Spearhead. It is evident that the Spearhead makes a square hole in the metal sheet or other object penetrated, this 45 hole having a size and shape substantially equal to that of the base of the pyramidal portion 30. The rear end of the Spearhead IU is recessed as at 42, this recess being internally threaded to receive a threaded stud 44 on the forward end 50 5U of the nozzle box I2 which is substantially cylindrical in shape, the extreme diameter of the cylinder being substantially less than the minimum diameter of the base of the portion 30. 'I'hus the nozzle box can easily follow the spear- 55 head through any hole made by the latter, there being ample clearance between the circumference of the nozzle boxand the sides of the hole to avoid any possible clogging of the nozzle oriiices. The sloping sides of the rear portion 32 of the Spearhead guide the head into the hole when the device is withdrawn.

The nozzle box I2, as indicated in Figure 2, is

closed at its forward end, the rear end 52 being l0 screw-threaded or otherwise secured to the forward end of the tubular shaft I4. The nozzle box I2 is preferably of bronze and has a hollow interior chamber 54 communicating with the tube I4.v At the forward end of the chamber 54 a plurality of discharge openings extend through the side walls of the nozzle box to provide for the escapeof water entering the chamber 54 from the tubuluar shaft I4. A iiow guide member 56 is preferably provided within the chamber 544to guide the flow of water therein to the bores. As shown in Figure 2, this guide member tapers from the closed end 58 of the box toward the `inlet at its rearward end. The bores, as illus- ,trated in Figure 3, areA preferably six in number 2 5 and includel apair of diametrical bores 60 and 62 extending in opposite directions from the cen- .,tral axis of the nozzle box. On either side of these bores are pairs of bores 64 and 66 on one side andv68 and 'I0 on the other side. These I `bores are nearly-parallel to the bores 68,62 but diverge slightly therefrom as shown, so as to distribute water discharged through the nozzle box in the manner indicated in Figure 5, the pur- .pose of such distribution being to reach simultaneously practically all portions of a narrow compartment such as is usually found between floor joists or the studding in a house interior wall, It is found, for example, that a divergence of 6 between the bores 64 and 68 and the cen- `4,0 tral bore 60 will result in the streams from the `bores 64 and 68 impinging on the sides of floor `joists which are 18 inches apart at a distance of "i feet from the nozzle. The size of the bores is preferably such that their combined cross-sectional areas are only a fraction (approximatelyone fourth, for example) of the cross-section ofthe stream entering the nozzle box. This ensures sufficient velocity in the streamsfissuing from the bores. For example, if a tubular shaft I4 beI used having an interior diameter of about seven-eighths of an inch, the six bores in the nozzle box may each have a diameter of three-sixteenths of one inch. Water supplied to such adevice at 65 pounds pressure will have a range of about50 feet in each direction. The outer ends of the bores-64, 66, 68 and 'I6 are counterbored as at I2 and 14, the eifect of the counterboring l2 being-to spread the streams from the bo-res 64 to 'I8 so that the water therefrom is distributed along the joists up to a few inches from the nozzle box, as indicated in Figure 5; If then the Spearhead and nozzle box are .thrust through'a'ceiling between two joists, the -box being in such a position that the bores 58 and 62 are` parallel to the joists, water will be 'discharged from the six orices in such a way as to reach all points in the space between the joists almost simultaneously. This makes possible rapid and effective operation against hidden fires with- 0 in the walls and behind ceilings.

In order to facilitate manipulation of the device, a grip member I6 may be mounted on the upper portion of the tubular shaft. This grip member is preferably of suitable molded plastic material adhesively secured to the shaft by shellac or the like. A double handle I8, such as is illustrated in Figure l, is preferably made of cast bronze and may be mounted on the shaft I4 by heating and shrinking. The shaft I4 may be coupled in any suitable or desirable manner to a `fire hose 26. In order to facilitate rapid use of the device, the lower end of the shaft I4 may be secured to a right-angled coupling 20 having a rotatable collar by which it may be quickly attached to the threaded end of the hose nozzle 22. If the nozzle is supplied with a shut-off 24, the stream may be turned off while the device is being attached to the nozzle or when the device is being `moved from one position of use to another in the operation thereof. The coupling 26 is preferably made of a special bronze which can be expanded without cracking so that the end portion 82 can be expanded into a suitable channelV 84 vto secure `the collar 8U rotatably to the coupling 20,

In using the device, the coupling 26 is attached to a nozzle 22, Then two men grasp the device by the handles I8 and the grip I6. The spear- `head is thrust through the wall, ceiling or partition until the nozzle box is effectively located, the handles I8 being held so that the streams from the nozzle box will be directed lengthwise of the space into which the box is thrust. As soon as the space is suitably ooded, the device is withdrawn and thrust into another space until all are quenched.

It is evident that various modifications and changes may be made in the embodiment of the invention herein shown and described without departing from the spirit or scope thereof as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

, 1. A fire-fighting device of the class described, comprising a penetrating head having a pyramidal having narrow plane margins along all of its edges and being slightly concave within its margins, a hollow nozzle box with laterally opening orifices secured behind said head, and a tubular shaft secured to and communicating with said V margins along all the edges thereof and slightly concave faces between said margins, and a rearward portion in the form of a truncated pyramid.

3. A hollow nozzle box closed at its forward end and provided with a pair of diametrically alined bores through the side wall thereof and a pair Vof additional bores beside each of said alined bores, said additional bores each diverging from said alined bores approximately six degrees.

4. A nozzle box closed at its forward end and having an inlet at its rearward end, said box having lateral discharge openings directed approximately in two opposite directions, and a flow guide member within said box tapering toward said inlet.

DONN R. BARBER.

portion with triangular side faces, each said face 45 

